Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/401986
UtILItY WeeK | 24th - 30th OctOber 2014 | 25 Operations & Assets Market view B ig data presents big challenges for companies in the utilities sector. The energy industry already stores above average levels of data and this is set to ramp up further with the introduction of smart meters throughout the UK. According to the Energy & Utilities Alliance, more than 350,000 meters have been installed up to March 2014, and the industry is on track to meet the government's 2020 smart meter roll- out timescale. Suppliers and network operators must now demonstrate to consumers and regula- tors that they can and will process smart meter data – and that generated elsewhere – securely and lawfully. The capture, storage and retrieval of data is a constantly evolving challenge, compli- cated by the variety of connected and mobile devices that generate information. Knowing precisely where data is stored, and being able to easily access it, is vital, not least to meet ever more stringent compliance regulations. The sector is no stranger to regu- latory investigation and litigation and, with the government promising to give Ofgem "the teeth it needs" to enforce action, utili- ties are under pressure to tighten compliance procedures. We recently conducted a survey into the impact of growing data volumes on major corporations, including utility companies. More than three-quarters of those sur- veyed felt confident in their ability to locate key data in the face of litigation or investi- gation. However, further research suggests such confidence may be misplaced. The sur- vey went on to reveal that only around half of these companies continually monitor and update their data map. Regulatory deadlines for document pro- duction can be as short as 14 days. If data is not continually assessed, the ability to respond to requests quickly, accurately and defensibly is severely tested. So where to begin? How best to navigate this data maze? Taking a proactive approach begins with gaining a clear understanding of the data universe, the records retention policies and the legal and regulatory needs of the business. This has obvious benefits in terms of reducing the cost of storage (many estimates suggest by more than 40 per cent) and the concomitant cost of processing and reviewing documents. Less quantifiable, but possibly more sig- nificant, is that by not doing this, organisa- tions could retain data that could come back to bite them in the future, but could justifi- ably have been deleted if retention policies had been practically applied. Planning and communication is the essence of a successful information govern- ance strategy. Getting the key players talk- ing to each other, and investing the time to build a data map – essentially a description of the organisation's data types, technical infrastructure and storage solutions – is an essential first step. Assessing the actions needed to preserve and collect data can bring an early under- standing as to the scale and nature of the challenge. Another benefit of building a data map is that it enables organisations to quickly high- light data sets that can be removed from a disclosure requirement, for example back-up duplicate emails. This low-hanging fruit can be useful, whether relating to a regulatory investiga- tion, an internal investigation or to litigation. Showing practical responsiveness to disclo- sure requests is a way to gain essential good- will from regulators or the courts. Our experience within the sector suggests the challenge for utilities extends beyond that of typical discovery for litigation pur- poses to encompass questions of econom- ics and to provide transparency around fair pricing. Business leaders recognise the impor- tance of this transparent approach to pricing in winning back and maintaining consumer trust, and the industry is pressing for guid- ance around the provision and communi- cation of cost and profitability data, both historic and future. A call for such guidance was issued in EDF Energy's response to the Competition and Markets Authority inquiry into the energy sector, for instance. Only by bringing all relevant parties together and working closely as a team to define what is most important to the organi- sation in terms of time, cost and scope, can the appropriate solution be built and maintained. The data landscape is constantly shiing. Therefore mapping this landscape cannot be a one-off exercise. It is not enough to adopt an irregular pattern of data monitoring, and leading businesses are recognising the ben- efit of partnering with experts to adopt a pro- active, continual approach to information governance. Martin Bonney, Director International Consulting Services, Epiq Systems Mapping the data universe Adopting a continual, proactive approach to information governance is essential if utilities are to meet the challenges of big data. Martin Bonney explores the sector's room for improvement. big daTa, big challenges Research from Epiq Systems shows that managing the rising volume of data is a key challenge for 78 per cent of large blue chip companies. Data volumes set to soar The average volume of data per firm is predicted to increase from below 200 terabytes in 2010 to more than 1,000 terabytes because of smart meters. 78%